Hartsdale, NY is a very small market, so its important to understand that the statistics can vary a lot more than other areas that I cover. Having said that, Hartsdale appears to be in a full blown buyer’s market with almost all indicators pointing in that direction.
Cooperatives:
Coop sales accounted for 62% of the market during the fourth quarter. This is a strong example of a general trend. Entry level housing is moving more than midrange and high-end. Since most people in this market have nothing to sell, they can take advantage of the lower prices without taking a hit on the selling side.
Prices were down almost 7% over the 4th quarter of the previous year.
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Many bloggers have “Fun Friday” posts. Although I haven’t started such a weekly tradition, I came across this early this morning when the market was looking particularly grim. I thought everyone could use a laugh in these uncertain times and I thought this was absolutely hilarious. It’s British understated humor at its best.
Enjoy your happy TGIF….
White Plains is in buyers market mode with varying levels of weakness and strength in terms of high inventories and low sales volumes. Prices in some sectors are showing more strength than the inventories and volumes would suggest. However, these sectors have already undergone a substantive pricing adjustment and though inventories are still high, they are lower than the White Plains housing inventories from the 3rd quarter.
Cooperatives:
Coops showed a mild price increase over the same quarter from the previous year. However, the average price of $208,000 was down from the previous quarter. This makes some sense as the housing correction started to hit home in the fourth quarter of 2007. Further, the pent up need to buy is quite intense in our area. The correction from the previous quarter combined with lower interest rates probably pulled some fence sitters to get out into the market. There is roughly 4 months of inventory currently on the market which is also an improvement over the 5.5 month inventory of coops at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Westchester has been resistant to price decreases since 2005:
Until recently, the Westchester real estate market has been very resistant to the housing recession that has been headline news in many parts of the country. Don’t get me wrong, there were signs that the market was far softer. But average and median sales prices had held up and even increased since 2005 when the housing recession began.
Westchester prices are heavily influenced by its unique location:
Reasons for the resilience are many – but I will mention the most obvious one. There is this old saying: Real estate is location, location, LOCATION. Okay – I know its a cliche – but in this case it happens to be true. The primary reason Lower Westchester has remained on solid footing is its location. From most points, mid-town Manhattan is a 40 minute commute or less. The train ride is convenient and comfortable. That is a HUGE perk and people are willing to trade real money up-front in exchange for more family time, less wear and tear on their cars and gasoline. Ask anyone who has experienced the grinding commutes north and west of lower Westchester and they will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about how a long commute saps your strength, your wallet and family time. Although some of the stats ahead are not looking too pretty, this fact should be uppermost in everyone’s mind for when the market recovers – which it will.
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In my previous blog on choosing a listing agent, I explained why agents sell homes – not brokerages. If that’s the case, then the issue uppermost in most seller’s minds should be:
How do I choose a good listing agent?
How do you find an agent who is worth their weight in gold rather than straw?
Here are some tips on what to look for and what to avoid:
What to avoid in a real estate agent:
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In these difficult and challenging times, it is very difficult for the potential seller to cut through all the “noise” and “hype” about listing agents and what individual brokerages bring to the table. In an industry that desperately needs more transparency, there is probably more hocus pocus floating around than ever before. Tales about how agent “X” can sell your home for more than agent “Y” in less time abound and have become the stuff of legend. Apparently agent “X” has that secret potion that moves homes – and what’s more, he’s got the sales figures to prove it! Big box brokerages also make the same claim. “Our Rumpelstiltskin marketing plan will attract buyers willing to pony up pure gold for your house made of straw!” In truth, like most fairy tales, these claims usually don’t amount to much.
First and foremost – AGENTS sell homes – brokerages don’t. With a few notable exceptions, most brokerages spend shockingly little money marketing a seller’s home. I’ve seen situations where brokerages will spend about 0.1% of the list price. That’s about $500 for a $500,000 home. If the home lingers on the market – and the advertising money is used up – that’s just too bad. The rest is left up to the individual agent who is unlikely to have very deep pockets in this current market.
True, many brokerages have spent hundreds of thousands for very fancy web sites brimming with eye candy and tons of nooks and crannies for buyers and sellers to explore. They try to blow sellers away with the fanciness of it all. As in the story of Snow White – there is a lot of smoke and mirrors to this tale. Bottom line – these sites are designed to do two things: Convince sellers to list and buyers to call.
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Happy Holidays to one and all!
Often when people think of Westchester, they think of the glitz and the glamour of New York City. And why not? NYC is a mere 20 miles away and about 30 minutes by train. Certainly downtown White Plains and New Rochelle and building up that “city image.” But Westchester has a “softer side” with many small villages dotting the landscape. Here are some photos of Christmas lights that I have taken over the past few days. Nothing to glitzy or crazy – just a nice seasonal display…courtesy of White Plains, Scarsdale, Larchmont, and Tarrytown.
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New Rochelle is a city that has been undergoing dramatic changes. During the boom new housing sprang up and the downtown is undergoing a major revitalization. When I go to downtown New Rochelle, I am reminded of what White Plains was like about 10 years ago.
New Rochelle had a mixed quarter price-wise showing an increase in sales price for single family homes and cooperatives. Condominium prices however, were down significantly. Overall, there is a lot of excess inventory which is an indication of a buyer’s market.
Cooperatives:
Coop sales prices were up significantly over the previous year (almost 20%.) This, in spite of the fact that sales volume was down about almost 30% and thee is a large overhanging inventory of about 1 year. It could be that only the “cream” of the coops actually sold – this creating an average price bump in the face of fewer buyers, but only time will tell the entire story here.
Condominiums:
Condo prices decreased 8.5% over the previous year and sales volume was down a full 20%. There is a great deal of inventory in this market as well – a full 18 months worth. Buyers have not had so much negotiatingroom in a long time. This is a definite buyer’s market where good deals can be found.
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Sometimes agents talk amongst themselves. Share our war stories and generally discuss the market and where we think it is going. Over the past few weeks I have been hearing a similar theme being expressed in different ways by several agents and brokers. It’s something that I’ve been feeling too – but haven’t expressed verbally – until now. Yesterday, one agent finally put his finger on all the euphemisms regarding “buyer behavior” over the past year when he said he is seeing a lot of “angry buyers.”
We are in one of the best buyer’s markets that Westchester County has ever seen. So why all the hostility? Buyers are in the drivers seat. But like the angry comic, Lewis Black, there are quite a few buyers who seem almost hostile no matter how much the pot is sweetened. It’s never quite enough and they keep pushing the envelope until there is no more. Even after they’ve been offered a gooey sweet pot – they sometimes walk away convinced that they are being ripped off.
My guess is that many of these angry buyers feel that they have been denied their “market crash.” They have been patiently waiting for the market to take a blissful dive off a cliff. After all, a crash of catastrophic proportions was promised by news media. A cohort of buyers were waitin’ and hopin’ and wishin’ and prayin’ for a complete collapse in the Westchester housing market. Then they were then going to swoop in and snag a steal and live happily ever after purchasing a $600,000 home for $200,000.
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Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow are among my favorite places to hang out in Westchester. You can’t beat the historic landmarks and the places like the Rockefeller Preserve for scenic beauty and a great walk. As much as I love the area, I must admit that housing market is in retreat and will probably remain that way until the Wall Street crash moves past the crisis stage and some stability returns to the job market.
The housing market has been slowing in the villages of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. This general weakness is seen across all housing sectors with single family homes taking the largest hit with respect to pricing. It is important to note that these closings were either completed or under contract prior to the stock market crash. So further reductions in pricing my occur.
Cooperatives:
Cooperative prices are down roughly 5% over the previous year. Sales volume is down 45% over the previous year with about six months of inventory on the market. Although this has all the earmarks of a buyer’s market, the actual numbers are small – so one shouldn’t read too much into the dramatic decrease in sales volume. Sales are down significantly and this is a buyer’s market – there is no doubt about that – but the 45% decrease would be 27% had there been just two more sales in 2008.
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Hartsdale, NY is a very small market, so its important to understand that the statistics can vary a lot more than other areas that I cover. Having said that, Hartsdale appears to be in a full blown buyer’s market with almost all indicators pointing in that direction.
